Conservatives climb to 16 point lead in latest poll July 26, 2016 The Conservatives have taken a 16 point lead over Labour in a new poll just 13 days after Theresa May became Prime Minister. A poll by ICM has found that the Conservatives have climbed by four percentage points to 43 per cent, against Labour's two percentage point fall to 27 per cent. Read more: Conservative [...]
Democratic National Convention: Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama urge unity around Hillary Clinton July 26, 2016 In stark contrast to the Republican convention, leading Democrats at different wings of the party have come together to urge unity around Hillary Clinton. At the Democratic National Convention, hosted this week, once-upon-a-time rival Bernie Sanders not just endorsed Clinton but pleaded to the party to unite around her. "Hillary Clinton must become the next [...]
Ukip leadership: Suzanne Evans backs Lisa Duffy to take over from Nigel Farage July 26, 2016 Former deputy chair Suzanne Evans has backed Lisa Duffy to take the reins of the UK Independence Party after Nigel Farage stepped down. Farage stepped down shortly after the Brexit vote, stating: "During the referendum I said I wanted my country back. Now I want my life back." It had been speculated that Evans, who [...]
William Hill shows the gaming tables can turn July 26, 2016 It's eat or be eaten in the gaming sector, and 888 and Rank have decided they would rather be predators than prey. Once takeover targets themselves, the two gambling firms have joined forces to consider bidding for William Hill, which is down on its luck. They have pounced with a preliminary approach following last week’s shock [...]
Sir Philip Green is threatening legal action against the chair of a parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of BHS July 25, 2016 Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green is threatening to sue work and pensions committee chair Frank Field over some of his comments relating to the collapse of BHS. Green has appointed law firm Schillings, who today wrote to Field demanding an apology within 24 hours. The lawyers claim Field accused Green of stealing money from the BHS and Arcadia pension funds in an [...]
Philip Hammond should ignore siren calls for more fiscal stimulus and develop a real strategy for growth July 25, 2016 A question, readers. Who said “spending and borrowing our way out of a recession, over and above the levels that are implied by the automatic stabilisers… will not work and is not sustainable”? Clue: he’s now chancellor of the exchequer. Philip Hammond once believed that Keynesian demand management was a fool’s errand. Just two weeks [...]
Top credit ratings agency declares European Union “unsustainable” July 25, 2016 Standard and Poor's (S&P), one of the world's top credit ratings agencies, has branded the current European Union "unsustainable" as it outlined the urgent need for reform. The UK's vote to sever ties with the other 27 members of the EU is just the latest example of dismay with the system of "pooled" sovereignty where [...]
A Labour MP has written to Jeremy Corbyn to withdraw her resignation from the party’s shadow cabinet July 25, 2016 A Labour MP has written to Jeremy Corbyn asking to be reinstated to the party's shadow cabinet just over a month after she declared the leader's role to be “untenable”. Sarah Champion quit her role as shadow home office minister for preventing abuse and domestic violence in late June. I have just stepped down from [...]
Labour councillors may back Owen Smith, but they believe local members will turn out for Jeremy Corbyn July 25, 2016 A new survey of Labour party councillors in marginal constituencies has found that while most back leadership challenger Owen Smith, many suspect their local members will not follow suit. In a survey of 350 Labour councillors across 250 marginal constituencies, Anglia Ruskin University found that 60 per cent backed Smith. By contrast, just 28 per [...]
Prime Minister Theresa May has sought to play down fears of a new hard border in Ireland in the aftermath of the Brexit vote July 25, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May has sought to play down fears of a new hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in her first visit to the country. Speaking in Belfast today, May said that while a border between the two will be inevitable, she was seeking a practical response to the new [...]